Contracts/ Agreements

If your School is proposing to be involved in a contract or agreement to provide or receive goods or services, please contact the SCU Legal Office and the Manager, Insurance and Risk Management before anything is signed (NB. only a limited number of senior staff with delegated authority are permitted to sign a contract/agreement on behalf of the University).

In most cases the draft document will be forwarded to the University's insurer for review to ensure that there is no unfair transfer of risk to the University or to our insurer. It is also imperative that the University discloses to our insurers details of all such activities to ensure adequate cover against losses.

A common practice used by a party to a contract/agreement is to include a 'hold harmless' or similar clause in an attempt to release that party from all liability resulting from their actions in relation to the contract/agreement.

This may not be in the best interests of the University or our insurer and every effort should be made to avoid such 'hold harmless' clauses. The Legal Officer will advise on appropriate wording for contracts and agreements.

Updated: 26 May 2011